ebike….The future

Is this the future?

600W. Will need a bit of detuning for the UK.

https://www.nicolai-bicycles.com/Saturn16MGU-en

Will need a bit of detuning for the UK

No it won’t. That’s just peak power, not continuous.

Apart from being €11,000 !!!

I get nice things are expensive, they do t need to be THAT expensive

I get nice things are expensive, they do t need to be THAT expensive

Built to last mate… And that’s a high bling spec to be fair.

A mate just had a factory tour @ Nicolai in Germany on Friday, he has a G1 currently, was blown away by just how good the Saturn 16 MGU is having had a play on one…

Whether Nicolai or not, the future of eBikes really has to evolve towards the use of these MGU’s, derailleur gears make even less sense the more torque that is continuously applied through.

600W. Will need a bit of detuning for the UK.

Eh…? Most eBike motors are 600W peak now… It’s not the continuous figure.

I get nice things are expensive, they do t need to be THAT expensive

You could almost get a nice mountain bike for that!

“Motor vehicles do not use derailleur systems for good reason.”

Are they saying that it’s not a bicycle?

Gearboxes are definitely the future for e-bikes, or at least they should be. Cassettes and derailleurs are out of their depth these days.

Hopefully the MGU is commonplace before I need an e-bike.

Apart from being €11,000 !!!

I get nice things are expensive, they do t need to be THAT expensive

Non-assisted enduro bikes are dead don’t you know. Now you can buy a lightweight, Trek thing for a bargain £7k, why would anyone, sorry, any journalist want a non-assisted one? I wish the cycling media would stop lapping up hyper-expensive bikes without questioning whether the pricing is realistic.

That Nicolai looks ace though, particularly given the relative fragility of conventional gear set-ups on e-mtbs. Was trying to explain overrun and gear shifts to my not very biking-orientated mate who’s missus just destroyed a mech on her mid-range Trek adventure touring e-mtb thing with a slightly sloppy change. He just expects, not unreasonably, things to work, not for every gear-shift to feel like a tenuous dancing on egg-shells moment, which is mostly my experience.

? Does the 5 year warranty apply to the motor, gearbox and battery ?

“ . In addition, we guarantee a spare parts supply for all models over a period of at least 10 years”, F*** me, that doesn’t sound like your standard mtb designer development plan ……., (apologies mods)

My next eBike will be one with a motor/gearbox, evolution.

Love the change to a commuter bike as you flip through the images. Clark Kent / superman thing going on.

Future? The pace is so fast on e-bikes that thing will look dated in a couple of years time. Watch as batteries and motors shrink rapidly

Watch as batteries and motors shrink rapidly

or maybe, just maybe, become reliable and durable ?

Does anybody else think the derailer is being pushed to it’s limits even on a non assited bike? It’s t time that ebikes got a better transmission, the concerns on a conventional bike about weight and power loss do not apply so much to ebikes as they have a motor to overcome power loss and already tend to be heavier than a conventional bike.

I was a relatively early adopter, with a 2020 Spesh Levo SL.  A great bike, I have upgraded a load on it, it had a new motor last summer.  I hardly use it anymore and would happily sell it, however the second hand ebike market is nothing like the non ebike one I have found.

An equivalent 10k regular bike would likely sell for somewhere between 3.5 and 4k to the right buyer, the Spesh would be unlikely to go for more than 3k, due to the perception of unreliability with ebikes.

I think depreciation associated with expensive ebikes is much more akin to that associated with the likes of new car purchases.  Not really a surprise, both technically complicated bits of kit where the manufacturers warranty is seen as a key peace of mind part of the purchase and hence if not present at resale the value plummets.

It has taken me a while to get my head round this and adjust my expectations.

Built to last mate

The frame undoubtedly yes, but let’s see about the MGU eh?

TBF that’s a way more appealing way to spaff £11k on an eeb than the equivalent Santa Cruz or Yeti.

Why have they not called it the Geom-E-tron though?

Im a wee bit skeptical of this system of mixing the motor gearing with gearbox gearing. Just seems that a hell of a lot of strain and torque is going through the same thing.

Before someone points out thats how cars work, car gearboxes are full of big hardened steel gears, theres nothing alloy in there.

The fact that you had a new motor after 3 years, to a non ebike dabbler looks like the motor is a weak link, and with the reputation of something like the orbea rise being that you need to factor in the motor failing relatively quickly doesn’t help the idea that they can be unreliable.

I’m not saying they are, there are plenty about that don’t get a mention of failure, but reliability of a secondhand bike out of warranty would be a major point of pause for me.

However, is warranty on batteries and motor transferrable? What is a common warranty period for those parts?

I have to say, going back to the OP Nicolai, the idea of a 160mm e-enduro bike with mudguards and pannier racks for explore mode looks amazing, and so Nicolai.

Does anybody else think the derailer is being pushed to it’s limits even on a non assited bike?

Definitely. See also; single crown forks with 180mm travel, 15mm axles and creaky CSU’s.

Is this the future?

Probably. Quite looking forward to see how the technology progresses. Right now I don’t want/need one and find them much too heavy. But then I find most non e bikes too heavy for me.

It would be good if there was an option for smaller/lighter/less powerful motors for smaller frames and smaller riders.

Watch as batteries and motors shrink rapidly

batteries cant shrink unless someone makes a big advance in battery technology. which they havent for donkeys years.

combined motor/gearbox is definatly the way forward for eebs.

Being a Nicolai/Geometron disciple, I like the idea of the Saturn MGU. Combining the motor/gearbox sounds brilliant/sensible. Reliability? It’s Pinion so I doubt it’ll be shit. Overall weight is the only negative for me aside from cost, but that could be applied to many ebikes.

If I had £11k to spend on an ebike it’d be this one.

However, is warranty on batteries and motor transferrable? What is a common warranty period for those parts?

2 years is normal warrenty on offroad parts. same as offroad motor bikes etc. some manufacturers trafer warrenty some dont. Shimano will warrenty a motor if you have a reciept or sell you a discounted one if you dont (if you return the old one). they arent keen on selling you one with a warrenty without a return ( i tried). my new one has a 2 yr warrenty (with a reciept) so if i sold it the new owner would have the reciept. the actual frame is well out of warrenty

or maybe, just maybe, become reliable and durable

Dual e bike owner here cube hybrid for commuting and general faffing about.  Orange charger for mtbing. Both 4 years old used  regularly especially  the cube,and both reliable…….

I have jinxed it now have’nt I.?

Also still cant work the quote function